Google is seeking the single best answer to a direct query from an effectively infinite number of data points… For most queries there is one right answer that Google will return to anyone who searches for the term in question. In short, the data set is infinite (which means no human is capable of doing the job), but the target is finite. Facebook, on the other hand, creates a unique news feed for all of its 1.44 billion users… what is infinite are the number of targets.

When the data set is big (Google’s challenge) or the user set is big (Facebook’s challenge), you need an algorithm. Good article, in large part due to good insights from Ben.

Good words by Ben Thompson, who runs and writes Stratechery (recommended, subscription required). From his Daily Update last week (emphasis mine):

There are various ways to potentially fix this problem, all of them variations on a dramatic acceleration in product development and experimentation […]. […]

The root of the problem though […] lies in those two new features I just discussed [shared block lists and removing the 140 character limit on direct messages]: it’s great that they exist, but they should have existed years ago. Twitter’s product is barely different from the product that existed in 2009 when Dick Costolo joined the company as COO, or since 2010 when he became CEO. […]

Twitter’s next CEO must have a profound understanding of what makes the service valuable and the product vision to take advantage.

He’s spot on. There’s certainly a level of simplicity that’s helped Twitter. But simplicity is not the same as forward progress. And, in the case of Twitter, simplicity also wasn’t the same as ease of use. Mix those together — product stagnation and product complexity – and you get Twitter’s current situation: an okay service, plateauing user growth, lots of potential, and no roadmap (that we can see) to get there.

We’re excited to team up with Google to bring Twitter’s unique, real-time content to Google’s search results. Starting today, U.S. users searching in English will see relevant Tweets in their search results within the Google app (iOS and Android) and mobile web. The desktop web version is coming shortly, and we have plans to bring this feature to more countries in the coming months.

This makes a lot of sense for both companies. Increasingly, more and more valuable content is shared via Twitter that isn’t available (or isn’t as visited) anywhere else. This action helps Google users find content, and it helps Twitter users reach more people.